Perceived corporate social responsibility and affective commitment: The mediating role of psychological capital and the impact of employee participation

Abstract This study examines the influence of employees' perception of their employers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their affective commitment. Drawing on social identity theory and positive organizational behavior in the context of human resource development, the study tests the mediating effect of employees' psychological capital (PsyCap) by using the bootstrap method to estimate the significance of indirect effects. Also, it accounts for any significant group differences across participants (Ps) and non‐participants in organizational CSR programs. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among 260 employees of 23 firms in Greece. The measurement model was tested by applying confirmatory factor analysis and the research hypotheses were empirically tested by using structural equation modeling, independent samples t ‐test, and chi‐square difference test. Findings revealed a strong and positive relation between employees' CSR perception and affective commitment, which is partially mediated by PsyCap. All scores of the study's variables were found to differ significantly in favor of Ps. However, the hypothesized interactions between variables were not proven to vary significantly on account of the employees' participation in CSR. The study advances the emerging micro‐level CSR literature by estimating the importance of employees' positive perception and participation in CSR.